


Nightmares

by Fallenangel_Winchester



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Doctor Strange (2016) Spoilers, Everyone Needs A Hug, M/M, Nightmares, Pain, Pining, Secret Crush, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wong is a Good Bro (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 15:29:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20342410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenangel_Winchester/pseuds/Fallenangel_Winchester
Summary: Tony experiences Doctor Strange's nightmares as a side effect of being hit by a spell





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Tagging this was a pain, also this is one of those ideas that sounded better in my head *sigh*  
Either way, I managed to write it down 
> 
> Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy it and as always comments are much appreciated.

His heart dropped to his stomach as he rushed downwards to catch the falling sorcerer before he plummeted to the ground as his fateful cloak still struggled against the spell that it got hit with. 

Finally he caught him just in time, carefully holding him in his arms as he gently lowered them on the ground before he retracted his suit just enough so he could take a better look at him. 

“You alright, Dumbledore? That was a long fall.” completely ignoring the ongoing battle around them, uncharacteristically shaken by the image of the falling sorcerer and the realization that it could have ended a lot worse. 

Strange’s ocean eyes focused on him still slightly dazed by the fall before he took a deep breath and in an instant his entire demeanor shifted and Tony got the impression of an incoming storm. 

“I'll be better once I deal with this guy.” just as the words left his mouth, the cloak joined him and together they stormed into the fight. 

A couple of intricate and badass in Tony's opinion movements after, the poor bastard who dared to use magic on the sorcerer supreme was captured and most likely had learned his lesson not to play with the big guys. 

Damn, Tony would lie if he said that he wasn't impressed by the display of power and how Strange almost glowed, a smug grin on his face as he opened a portal and announced, 

“Captain Rogers, I'm not going to join you for debriefing this time, there's something important that requires my attention.” then he nodded at them, his gaze lingering for a few seconds longer on Tony before he stepped through the portal and disappeared. 

Maybe he could as well disappear before anyone noticed him, briefings weren't fun at all, in fact they were so boring they put him to sleep and with the sorcerer out of the picture he wouldn't have a distraction. 

Not as if he was staring at the man or something, it was just the fact that Doctor Stephen Strange was a mystery, one that tended to come to his mind without a warning and wouldn't leave until he stubbornly pushed it away by throwing himself in his work. It wasn't a surprise when those days turned out to be his most productive ones, despite the fact that he almost always ended up falling asleep in his workshop dreaming of stormy eyes and orange sparkles. 

Unfortunately, Rogers noticed him as he always did and gave him a look that meant that he wasn't going to charm his way out of this one. Oh, well at least he wouldn't be the one who will get the most criticism this time, Clint earned that honor. 

The meeting ended, everyone had a lunch for once too tired to bicker about their weird food choices then each one of them went on their own way. 

Tony as usual ended up working in his workshop, his mind overactive as he slowly allowed for the familiar motions and the comforting buzz of his bots to soothe every tension in his body while at the same time relaxing his mind. 

Yup, he was the only one who relaxed while working on something else, especially when it included the thrill of coming up with solutions and improvements for various things, he was special like that. 

He must have closed his eyes for a second and fallen asleep because the next thing he noticed was the earth thrumming with energy, like any moment it could crumble, the air felt heavy, pressure closing in on him, yet his steps were steady, there was green and starlight mixed up together that gave the appearance of being trapped in an abstract painting, if it wasn't for the taste of danger in the air. Then suddenly purple eyes formed in front of him and with a sharp inhale he woke up. 

_ What the actual hell?  _

A nightmare, it wasn't as if he didn't have enough of them already, only this one didn't seem like one of the usuals, a reason why he remembered the overwhelming determination and fear he experienced during the nightmare. 

One look at his surroundings told him that he was still in his workshop and was actually impressed by his ability to stay on his chair while sleeping and he wasn't sleepy anymore, but he felt the need to get some fresh air and of course a cup of coffee. 

Even after sitting at the top of the tower for more than an hour while drinking his coffee and trying to see whether he could spot a constellation or two, his mind was still restless, which wasn't unusual after a bad dream, but there was something going on, something he couldn't figure out and that bothered him. 

There was no use thinking about a weird dream, no matter how real it felt as long as it didn't repeat, not that it would, wouldn't it…. 

If his night turned out to be eventful and strange, the morning continued with the trend when Strange opened a portal in his kitchen and startled him so much that he almost dropped the cup of coffee he was holding before he turned to glare at him. 

“Dammit Gandalf! I have a heart condition you know.”

“If you cared for your so called heart condition you'd have laid off that coffee.” 

“And do what, drink leaves like you? If I'm going, I'm going in style.” he gave him one of his patented grins whose sole purpose was to annoy people and it always worked, according to Rogers. 

Strange huffed in amusement before he schooled his features to something more serious, Tony immediately felt the loss but didn't show it. 

“Clearly.”

“What can I help you with doctor? Since apparently you mean business.” 

“Actually, I came to check up on you.” 

“Check on me? Excuse me but you were the one who took a big hit, I'm more than fine.” there was something in the way the sorcerer was looking at him that started to worry him. 

“You came pretty close to the attack, just wanted to make sure that you weren't affected by the magic. Are you certain that there's nothing wrong?” 

For a second he thought about telling him about the weird dream/nightmare but it was probably nothing and he didn't want to worry the man even though he was sure that the sorcerer was just being responsible as always, not that he actually cared about him. 

“Yes, I'm fine. Don't tell me that you're worried about me, I'm flattered but I'm tougher than I look.” and when he saw the other man’s lips twitch in an attempt to suppress his smile, he added, 

“Coffee?”

“Another time, I only drink tea leaves. Stay out of trouble. “ and he simply made a portal, allowing Tony just enough time to yell, 

“You're welcome.” before he walked through it. 

The thought that the serious sorcerer could actually care for him, even like him, warmed up his tired heart, but as always it was too good to be true. 

  
  


The next time he fell asleep was a day afterwards, his mind was filled with equations and designs that he was sure that he would probably wake up to write something down and he did wake up, but for a completely different reason. 

It was the same dream, he knew it, could feel it despite being in it yet he couldn't wake up not until he knew what was going to happen next. This time, there was a weight on his shoulders, his hands were shaking like never before, while a glowing ring of symbols circled around his forearm…that was familiar but he couldn't remember why. Everything was slightly blurry almost as if looking through a foggy window. 

All of his instincts were on alert, the hair on the back of his neck standing on edge, a silent warning that was completely useless to him, although he could swear that he felt the shift in the air as he stood prepared for the next part. The appearance of the purple eyes. 

The moment those eyes focused on him, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, one look told him that he had been pierced by something huge…with a scream he woke up. Immediately he pressed his hand on his chest, running his fingers over scarred skin until he convinced himself that it was just a dream, even though he could still feel the pain. He let out a relieved sigh despite the fact that his body couldn't stop shivering when cool air hit his naked torso. 

_ Just a dream _

Slowly he lowered his head on the pillow, one deep breath and his eyes closed, too late he realized that it was a mistake to do that because he was dragged back into the nightmare. 

Surprisingly he was still in one piece even though it started to feel like it wasn't his body, but there was no time for anything when something crashed into him and everything went black for a moment before he was standing again, purple eyes and a voice that he couldn't understand and he felt like thousands knives were stabbing him repeatedly before he blinked and once again those purple eyes glared at him… 

He was lost somewhere between dream and wakefulness, half-asleep, half awake as pain crashed onto him in waves and somehow during that storm he was aware of clutching his bedsheets hard enough to rip them as scream after scream poured out of his lips. 

There was no way to wake up, so he let it consume it, until the world became a blur or purple eyes, green symbols and pain as he got ripped apart over and over until he lost track of how many times he got killed. 

“You've come to die.” echoed around him, mocking and arrogant one more time before darkness pulled him under and the nightmare ended. 

When Tony woke up he felt like he had done twelve rounds with the Hulk, tired as his jumbled mind tried to piece together the fragments of the hell he'd been through which it didn't appear as far and unreal as it should have now that he was awake. All he remembered was pain, purple and green and the voice, nothing more, nothing to tell him what was wrong with him, because he had no doubt that something was wrong. Those weren't his nightmares, hell his demons were angels in comparison to the monstrosity the saw… 

_ Magic _

It probably had something to do with the crazy magician they captured a few days ago, even Strange asked him whether something had happened to him and he waved him off. 

_ Stupid magic _

He should go and visit him, because he didn't think he could experience another night like that, in fact, he decided to stay awake as lost as possible and due to his long record of being sleep-deprived it would be an easy thing to do. 

Yet when he prepared to go and pay the good sorcerer a visit, something flashed in his mind and he closed his eyes to better understand the flashback he suddenly got hit with. 

_ Red, purple, green ring…a voice? Not his.  _

And he froze on the spot when he looked at his hands and recalled a part of the nightmare, there were scars on his hands, orange shields sprang out of his palms… 

_ He’ve been experiencing Strange’s nightmares _

That changed everything, he couldn't simply go and say to the man, ‘Good morning Strange, how are you doing? I'm not doing well because I kinda experienced your nightmares and oh my god are you alright? Did you really died groundhog day style? By the way, could you please take them back since I'm a pathetic mortal and can't go through them one more time.’

Yup, that would go so well, that well that the other man would probably feel embarrassed and vulnerable now that Tony knew about the horrors that haunted him and would most likely never want to see him again. Tony didn't want that, he was fascinated, impressed and charmed by the sorcerer, that was slowly starting to become a bit more than a silly crush and if the man was at least a bit like him, he wouldn't want to talk about it. 

_ Why these kinds of things happened to him?  _

Now that he knew that magic was the reason, he knew that he needed help no matter how much he hated asking for it, but that wasn't the only problem. The thing was that Strange had been through hell and survived, that he was quite possibly still having those nightmares and Tony's heart clenched at the mental image of the sorcerer suffering alone and decided that if he was going to do something about it, he'd do it for the both of them. 

That meant that he needed Wong at least for the first part of the plan that slowly started forming inside of his head, but first he'd need lots of coffee. 

Two days afterwards, sleep-deprived and high on caffeine, he knocked on the Sanctum’s door, luckily Wong opened, his sharp instincts already telling him that something was wrong with Tony, not that it wasn't visible on his face. He had never appreciated Wong's no nonsense type of approach, he was straightforward and blunt, it would have been hilarious if he wasn't worried. Strange wasn't there so the other sorcerer promised not to tell him at least until he found a solution because according to him, the spell ended up more twisted than originally. 

_ Of course, it did _

He offered the genius a tea that would probably keep most of the nightmares away but Tony refused it, he didn't want to sleep, but he also didn't want to disrespect Strange’s sacrifice by completing ignoring the nightmares. Middle ground…he started visiting the Sanctum every day, coming up with hardly believable excuses just to be around the sorcerer and to ease his mind, he even considered to ask Wong to secretly sneak him in order to watch over the sorcerer, but then realized how creepy he sounded, so he kept his silence. 

Instead he tried some tactics that sometimes worked on him, delicious and warm meal, pleasant talk and banter, distraction of any kind that sadly didn't include hugs and kisses because no Tony, he doesn't like you like that and if he knew, he'd think that you pity him. 

The interesting thing was that during the week he visited and spent a few hours with him, he started respecting and admiring him more than he thought he could, which as a side effect made his small crush turn into something very serious. 

How did he survive a week with no sleep? By being a genius of course. Not really, he and Wong made quite a detailed plan so he would be able to sleep for a few hours daily with as minimum nightmares as possible. 

Tony must have been too tired because he started thinking that sharing Strange’s nightmare made him feel closer to the man even though said man still kept his distance, although he smiled more and that was a beautiful sight. 

Pretty soon Wong found a solution, some form of a counter spell but according to him the whole process would be uncomfortable. He didn't care, not when it seemed like the sorcerer supreme was getting better rest than him, he had to get better so he could help him. 

Fast forward, Tony was laying on a bed in one of the many rooms in the Sanctum trying not to fidget while Wong was performing the spell. “You sure this is going to work? I'm not too fond of dying in my sleep.”

“Just close your eyes and remember those are Stephen's nightmares, they can't hurt you.”

“Tell that to them.” 

The moment he stepped on shaky ground and felt the weight of the cloak on his shoulders, he knew something went wrong because he wasn't watching, he was experiencing it once again. Quickly he rushed to wake himself up but it didn't work, so he braced himself and allowed the nightmare take over trusting Wong to drag him out. 

He was on his tenth death, already feeling like he'd lose his mind when a voice whispered in his ear, 

“Tony…follow my voice, focus on my voice, shut off any other sounds, it's not real.” through the haze he didn't actually recognize the voice, but he did what was asked of him, a pull in his belly and he woke up, thrashing his arms left and right until two warm hands caught them and the same voice started calming him down. 

When he actually opened his eyes, he met Strange’s filled with guilt and pain and he suddenly rushed to say, 

“Stephen…it's alright. I'm alright.” but it wasn't working he was actually pulling back, Tony panicked and gently wrapped a hand around Stephen's wrist and said, 

“Please don't… it's not your fault, please let me help, don't hide away from me.” he noticed how his voice changed, it almost sounded like a plea, but he didn't care because the sorcerer stopped trying to get away and was looking at him with pained eyes. 

“You shouldn't have experienced my pain, it's not fair, I'm sorry Tony.”

“Neither should you, but you're not alone now…I'd like to help in any way I can.” 

“I should be the one who should offer help.” he contradicted him. 

“Well…I believe the nightmares are gone for now, but just in case, you could…” he licked his lips already regretting the next words, 

“stay with me, I'll sleep better with you around… not that I'm suggesting something, just free cuddles…don't feel pressured…”

_ Great job, Tony, very smooth _

To his delight, Stephen chuckled and nodded, 

“I believe both of us need a bit of rest, and then we'll talk about why you didn't tell me that something was wrong sooner.”

“No more sandwiches for Wong, since he's such a snitch.” he whined only to be pulled on his feet by the sorcerer who claimed that they needed to eat something before sleeping. 

An hour later, they were laying in Stephen's bed with Tony on his back and the sorcerer resting his head on Tony's shoulder when he asked, 

“Does this mean that you like me too?” 

“Good night Tony.” and he snuggled closer in his arms. 

“Ohh, come on Dumbledore here I'm admitting my crush because it's obviously a side effect of my sleep-deprivation and all I get is good night.” telling the truth as a joke, not the best way, but it'll do. 

“You make a great pillow… and of course I like you too, otherwise I'd have put you to sleep with magic.”

“Mean… I like it. Good night.” pressed a quick kiss in Stephen's hair and pulled him closer before he closed his eyes and fell asleep. 


End file.
